Hogan is a company that has struggled as of late. After seeing a resurgence in their popularity about five years ago, the company seems to have faded again.
Although the quality of the product has remained quite high and they have had a notable tour presence (Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard, and Jonathan Byrd have all won in the last several years), Hogan just hasn't been able to reach the average consumer. With the FTX they have created a great set of irons but again have run into the same trouble. The FTX was first marketed towards the 15-20 handicap golfers while it was clearly not the ideal club for that level of player. They have now started to push the FTX towards the more demanding player in hopes of increasing sales.
The FTX, like almost all other Hogan clubs, has a forged head. It is constructed from 10-25 carbon steel and has to be one of the softest feeling irons on the market. The biggest selling feature of the FTX is the progressive head design. Each head is designed individually and transitions into the next. The 3-6 irons have a cavity back head while the 7-PW move into a muscle back design. This gives the golfer the utmost in control and feel in the shorter irons while providing some forgiveness in the longer clubs.
For the higher handicap player that Hogan initially targeted the FTX at it is not a good golf club. The clubs do not offer golfers much in the way of forgiveness. They do offer a great deal of feel and allow the better player to work the ball with ease. The Apex shafts that come stock in the FTX are a nice shaft for vibration dampening and produce a slightly higher ball flight. Hogan also offers Dynamic Gold or Rifle shafts at no up-charge.
Overall Rating – 60%
Target Handicap: Low
Ball Flight: Low-Mid
Offset: Progressive
Shafts: Ben Hogan Apex